Nairobians warned against pollution at launch of Breath initiative

Residents of Nairobi County have been warned against environmental pollution and urged to take personal responsibility to ensure universal access to clean air.

Speaking on Wednesday during the launch of the Breath Nairobi initiative, the county CEC in charge of Environment Maureen Njeri said tough actions will be taken against industries operating within residential areas and any Kenyan who fails to comply with air quality standards in the city.

According to the CEC, air pollution in Nairobi is significantly impacted by the transport sector, but a few individuals are conducting illegal activities that cause harmful emissions leading to diseases and deaths.

Studies have shown that 9 out of 10 people in the world breathe unclean air. According to Seneca Naidoo the C40 Cities Regional technical advisor on Air Quality in Southern Africa, 7 million premature deaths have been linked to air pollution across the globe annually which exceeds the global 5 million deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Nairobi city like other cities around the world is experiencing a sharp population increase leading to a sharp rise in the number of vehicles which are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.

Nairobi county CECM for Mobility and Works, Ibrahim Nyangoya Auma who was part of the launch, said that the county government of Nairobi is collaborating with partners to promote sustainable and low-emission transport.

“We are collaborating with partners by facilitating the transition to electric buses, e-motorcycles, and other eco-friendly alternatives, this is very important in reducing our over-reliance on fossil fuels and cutting down emissions," said Auma.

According to Auma, the county government of Nairobi is working with key stakeholders to enhance public transportation systems with a particular focus on expanding bus rapid transport networks (BRT) in order to reduce the number of vehicles on the road that will lead to the reduction of emission as well as ease congestion in the city.

He added that a robust air quality monitoring system is being developed in the city to allow real-time tracking of air pollution.

“As we transition to greener transport options the resulting emission reduction will be tracked in real-time, the development of low-cost sensors across all the 85 wards of the city to monitor pollution levels represents a significant milestone," he noted.

Auma said the county will develop non-motorized transport for pedestrian-friendly streets and dedicated cycling lanes.

The County Chief Officer for Environment Mr Geoffrey Mosiria whose background is in the health sector said, pollution-related diseases are on the rise, warning Kenyans against endangering their lives through air pollution.

“I am calling upon everyone we have to join hands, it is our responsibility to ensure that we keep our environment clean, we are the only people who are going to make this city clean and green and for us to stop air pollution it has to start with you," Mosiria noted.

Studies have shown that only 2% of cities globally have met the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines for PM 2.5 which is 5microgrsms per cubic meter.

According to environmentalists, there is a need to channel more efforts towards air quality, especially in cities around the world as the global population is expected to rise by 59% and 66% by 2030 and 2050 respectively.

Over 90% of the world’s population is living in areas that exceed the World Health Organization’s standards. WHO recognizes air pollution as the biggest global health threat in the current century and its dire effects are impacting public health budgets.

Despite the evidence of air pollution harm, the situation in Africa has been worse in the last 10 years causing deaths that could have been avoided, it is severely felt in the fastest growing regions and underdeveloped regions of the world where we have large growing populations, large vehicle traffic volumes coupled with the reliance on unclean fuels, improper waste and waste management best practices

According to the 2021 UNEP report, only 31% of countries have legal mechanisms for managing and addressing transboundary air pollution and only 57% have a legal definition of air pollution.

Climate change and air pollution are crises that go hand in hand and climate change cannot be tackled without addressing air pollution which is a health hazard and also contributes to warming the planet.

C40 Cities air quality program works with cities to accelerate the reduction in both air pollution and greenhouse gases through the implementation of robust air quality management. Nairobi is one of the 13 African C40 member cities that are working towards WHO air quality guidelines as well as the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The official Launch of Breath Nairobi initiative which is part of the larger global Breathe Cities movement spearheaded by the Clean Air Fun, C40 Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies, aims to implement innovative solutions to improve Nairobi’s air quality. 

By joining the US $30 million initiative, Nairobi will receive support to address critical air pollution challenges.